Royal Rally – Badlands Event Recap

The second Royal Rally event has officially come to a close. The event, held annually in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, had a massively successful event this year. After last year’s successful Mountain Run event in the Alberta Rockies, the organizers decided to bring the scavenger hint style event East to the Alberta Badlands.

The event attracted over 60 cars from all over Western Canada, ranging from a Hyundai Veloster and lifted Chevy Truck to numerous BMW’s, Ferrari’s Lamborghini’s and more.

Starting at Davenport Motorsports in Calgary, the first route card took teams on a scavenger hunt through the Alberta Badlands to a ghost town, Hoodoo rock formation refuge site, an abandoned coal mine and a suspension bridge. Each route card has a list of checkpoints with clues to solve, photos to take and bonus checkpoints to visit. At the end of the day, the teams with the highest points are awarded the first, second and third place Navigator Awards.

The event relies on navigation and attention to detail, as not all of the checkpoints are marked. Teams stopped at the Last Chance Saloon in the tiny town of Wayne Alberta, population: 33. The saloon, built in 1916, served as a unique checkpoint on the route, surrounded by the rugged Alberta Badlands.

The afternoon leg took teams to the world’s largest dinosaur statue, world’s smallest church and a ferry crossing. Teams had to come up with creative photo ideas and solve more clues along the way before heading back to Calgary to Hotel Blackfoot for a buffet dinner and awards ceremony.

The high-octane event was well-received, leading the organizers to announce a future event for the brand.